DIY Rail Speeder on Abandoned Urban Railroad

I brought my electric railway kart out to an abandoned railroad in the city. It's still not very fast, but now that I've installed a chain guard I can smash through a lot more brush and weeds! We checked out some forgotten industrial rail sidings, old overpasses and trestles, and saw some severe track damage that keeps this track from being used.

[rsethc]

Just imagine you're a driver approaching a rail crossing, the lights start flashing and the bells start ringing. And after minutes of waiting, you see this advanced go kart thing just casually plodding along from left to right in front of you, then an advanced bicycle as well and after several more minutes the crossing finally opens up again.

[michaelbujaki]

Plot twist: the railway decides to reopen after discovering that the track needs less restoration than initially thought.

[italianstallion]

MY MAN, YOU NEED TO PUT A LAWNMOWER BLADE BENEATH IT. THAT WAY YOU CUT GRAS AND RIDE!!!

[Paul_Lucas]

Wow, sweet! I really wish we could do this in the UK but there isn't *that* much abandoned infrastructure with usable track left.

[kibashisiyoto]

I've crunched through a paved over crossing with a GP-9, so paving over doesn't necessarily mean you can't encounter the train. Doubtful, but not absolute assurance.

[IsaiahAmos]

Those tracks are in surprisingly good shape

[isaacstone]

imagine if the railroad crossing activated.

[dewservices]

You should put a giant train horn on it and blow it when crossing the roads. lol

[edp]

It is surprising how fast a rail line can become unusable when neglected. Not just weeds, but trees will be growing in the middle of the tracks. It can take as little time as one year for the line to become impassable. One storm could do it. If you see an old line with rusty rails that seems unused, but there are no weeds, and the tree branches are trimmed away, it is not abandoned.

[flapjack]

This looks like SO much fun! 20 years ago maybe I could have done that in this area, but most of the decent abandoned track has been turned into bike paths at this point. That's good, sure, but having my own personal railway would be so much better!

[tomroise]

Nicely done. What a great ride. You should get the speedsters to join you. Always sad to see the abandoned lines.

[bonniemoerdyk]

That was so interesting to see from the perspective of what my grandfather saw when he worked for the Big Four in Terre Haute Indiana (Duane Yards). He would inspect the line on the way to Indy. One week, after he had worked there a decade, he told his boss that the wheel was loose on his 'car', but his boss insisted he go out that day anyway. On the way home, the wheel came completely off and it threw him into the ditch and the wheel crushed him. It happened right next to the RR tower between Coal Bluff and Fontanet (no longer standing) and they called an ambulance. He lived just long enough for grandma to get there to say goodbye. My daddy was only 2 yr old (1932). He tried to 'wake' his daddy up (from the coffin) to see his new suit. Grandma brought a lawsuit, but only received $100 for his life! This was during the depression and grandma took in laundry to eek out a meager living for her 3 kids. Anyway...thanks for doing this...how cool!

[ryanfrogz]

For those who still think he’s in danger of encountering a train after all he’s said: there’s no customers on the line, and it probably hasn’t seen traffic since 2015 or before.

[bjoe]

If you did this in England you’d be killed by a firing squad, our railway operator Network Rail aren’t known for there sense of humour.

[chrissharp]

Absolutely brilliant. In the UK they turned some abandoned railway lines into walkways and having walked a few of them the scenery can be stunning and there even re establishing some short routes. What goes round comes around! Oh maybe you should consider putting a sythe on the front!!!

[megalodon]

If you're ever in upstate NY, check out the old abandoned railway that runs through Shandaken. It's in very good quality in some places, and runs through some stunning scenery.

[outsidethewaxbox]

This is an amazing video! I’ve lived in St. Paul my entire life, and many years in the West 7th neighborhood in particular, and this was a fascinating look at al lot of places I see on a daily basis but thru an entirely different lens.

[oputoful]

Sounds like fun. In Japan, even abandoned lines are controlled and off limits.
So I envy you.

[imken]

A 1964 Oldsmobile dynamic 88 fits the tracks here perfect. In the early 80's we use to put a keg in the back seat and 6 or so of us would party up an abandon Milwaukee road track and back down...an all day affair on a weekend...best of times...

[ericketchum]

Great video! Nice to see an electric rail rider. I kept saying, "Don't derail" when you were going over that muddy water